The Media Gets It Wrong (May 9, 2012)

Tennessee’s legislature just passed the strongest pro-abstinence law in the country. As expected, liberals went crazy. But the media ridicule went far beyond the normal liberal bias.

The bill prohibits those who teach sex education in public schools from “promoting gateway sexual activities.” The bill defines that term by referencing a section of the criminal code that gives a detailed description of the behaviors involved in “gateway sexual activities.”

But state and national media reported that the term was not defined in the bill. One newspaper actually justified this deception because the definition required you to read the Code. So the definition was “in the Code” not “in the bill.”

Fortunately legislators disregarded the media’s ridicule. Whether the Governor will be swayed by the media to veto the bill remains to be seen.